


Poe is Good

by Littlebluejay_hidingpeanuts



Category: Original Work, The Fall of the House of Usher - Edgar Allan Poe
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:46:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22423555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Littlebluejay_hidingpeanuts/pseuds/Littlebluejay_hidingpeanuts
Summary: Research paper on The Fall of the House of Usher and The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe. Missing works cited.





	Poe is Good

  
“One cannot deny that Poe’s work is 'experimental.’ But this does not condemn it to the puerile, the haphazard, or the superficial. Indeed, when his work is examined closely, we discover in Poe an incredibly detailed and, I submit, a profound metaphysic,” (St. Armand 1). Edgar Allan Poe’s work is typically thought of as horror. He wrote about death and murder, of hurting people in appalling ways. This is only the very surface of Poe’s work. Just like an onion, Poe’s stories have many layers to them and perspectives from which they can be read. His stories are horrific, but they are also exaggerations of Poe’s home life. As dreams help people to work through their problems, writing helped Poe to work through his issues. Not only were his stories influenced by his daily life, he declared himself a Southern writer. Though born in Boston, his work contains many aspects that are characteristic of Southern literature. Maintaining image and honor seem to be rather common in Poe’s stories; two common Southern concerns. All this can be said to be common to many writers, but how many can claim to have an interest in worldly ideas like alchemy and Gnosticism. Alchemy is the process of turning a common substance into a substance of great value like turning baser elements into gold or finding the elixir of life. This is rather similar to “The Gnostic Religion” (St. Armand 1). The Gnostic metaphysic is “basically one of the radical dualism that sees the soul trapped in the materiality of a prison-house world, with escape possible only through a supreme act of knowing or gnosis” (St. Armand 1). These layers can be shown most clearly in Poe’s short stories _The Cask of Amontillado_ and _The Fall of the House of Usher_. All these layers brought together make Poe’s stories into deep and complex studies of humanity, and even works of art.

Starting off, most readers see only the horror and the grotesque. Stories about men being bricked alive into basements for eternal revenge or brothers who bury their sisters alive only to have them return to life draw people in by the droves. People love to be scared, which is why writers like R. L. Stine and Stephen King are so prolific. Poe even makes his characters fascinated with horror. “There is abundant evidence that he [Roderick Usher] is in love with ‘the morbid acuteness of the senses’ which he has cultivated in the gloomy mansion” (Brooks 25). No one is safe and no one is innocent according to Poe. Brooks says that, “the author has used nearly every kind of device at his disposal in order to stimulate a sense of horror in the reader” (23). There is no problem with reading Poe just to get scared, but horror soon loses its appeal. Brooks again says, “though there is an element of horror in many of the great works of literature still, we do not value the sense of horror for its own sake” (23). So, the first layer of Poe’s work, the easy scare, is not enough. The readers must have more to retain their attention.

The second layer of Poe’s stories depends on the reader’s knowledge of Poe’s life. He was not admired for his writing ability. W. B. Yeats called his work “vulgar.” R. W. Emerson named him the “jingle man” (Wood 1). T. S. Eliot condemned him to “a stumbling block for the judicial critic” where his work was made of “nothing but slipshod writing” that was “without perfection in any detail” (St. Armand 1). With all this criticism, it is not surprising that Poe wrote _The Cask of Amontillado_ , wherein Montresor lures Fortunato to his death with the temptation of a cask of sherry. Montresor does this in revenge for an insult made against his honor by Fortunado. The story clearly describes how Montresor, and Poe, “bore injuries without complaint, but insults he will not abide” (Wood 1). So, like a disgruntled employee who sees his employer’s face on every antagonist getting beaten up on the silver screen, Poe kills his critics with his pen. Not only in his stories did he do this, but in his criticisms that were published in the newspaper of which he was an assistant editor (Wood 1).

_The Fall of the House of Usher_ also depends on Poe’s life to give it substance, but it is not a release for Poe’s emotions against others, instead, it is a replication of his life. At a young age Poe’s parents and brother died. His sister went mad as a result. His foster father abused him when he first moved in, and disowned him because of his problems in college. While there, Poe gambled, drank, and never settled down. Later, turning 24, he moved in with his aunt. Poe’s aunt was a widow living in Baltimore with her thirteen-year-old daughter, Virginia. While living there, he married Virginia. It was then that he worked as an assistant editor (Wood 1). Poe’s character of Roderick Usher has a life that parallels his own. They were both intelligent, flitted away their time as young adults and eventually returned home to live as recluses. They both had an incestuous relationship with a young woman in their family who ultimately dies. It seems that Poe wished to tell a destructive side of his own story.

As a self-proclaimed Southern writer, Poe used concerns that are common throughout Southern literature. _The Cask of Amontillado_ is a perfect example of two commonly used characteristics of Poe’s and of Southern literature. Montresor shows a heightened sense of honor when he kills in revenge for an insult. He shows a need to maintain image when he makes sure not to get caught. For him to be found out a a murderer, his name and family would be tainted. The amazing aspect is that for all this revenge’s Southern-ness, Poe presents it in such a way as to make it international. The catacombs that Montresor leaves Fortunato in could as likely be in Italy or France than in part of the American South. For all his proclamations, Poe was a Northerner. But for all the ridicule of Poe’s work, he did know how to effectively use a wide range of techniques, even those that were not native to him. His ability extended to taking typically culturally integrated concerns and putting them into believable foreign places. For all his harshness, his ability and criticism made everyone equal.

It is very true to say Poe is an experimental writer when one sees the amount of symbolism integrated into his stories. The Fall of the House of Usher is filled to the brim with symbolism from alchemy and Gnosticism. To catch on to this symbolism, one has to be knowledgeable of these schools of learning. So, it is safe to say that not many people see this kind of symbolism in Poe’s stories given the amount of people that know nothing of Gnosticism and only just the bare minimum of alchemy. Alchemy, as said before, is the process of transmuting something into something else of greater value. Alchemists for centuries have struggled to find the secrets of how to make gold and how to extend life. Even stories today have been influenced by their search; for example, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling. The stone in Rowling’s story and in alchemy can turn any metal into gold, and an elixir made from it can give the drinker eternal life. This is the basis of what alchemy is, but by no means all that it has to offer. This stone is essentially the symbol for the act of gnosis. “Alchemy was a means of liberating the primal spirit trapped in the layers of materiality, as it was a means of liberating the immortal human soul from its enforced sojourn in the confines of the fleshly body” (St. Armand 2). An alchemist’s prime goal was to achieve this “all soul” through a series of trials ending in release of the secrets and the doing away with the mortal body. Finding or creating the “Philosopher’s stone” was all important. “Its [alchemy’s] thirteen cryptic propositions were accepted as the key to the secret of the Philosopher’s Stone and the mystery of the universe itself. But the general pattern of alchemical teaching never varies. It asserts a union of spirit, symbolized by the eagle, or by mercury, with the serpent or sulfur, matter. This union forms the dragon, or winged serpent out of a conflict between opposites. The ‘mortification,’ or death of the dragon was necessary before that resurrection could take place which alone produces the ‘philosophers’ stone” (St. Armand 3). This is where one sees the symbolism in _The Fall of the House of Usher._ Roderick Usher entombs his sister in the family crypt thinking she is dead. This is Usher’s replication of the dragon’s death. This death can also be seen in the fictional story the narrator reads to Usher, the “Mad Trist” by Sir Lancelot Canning. The story is about a knight who kills a dragon to get the treasure, a brass shield. Within this story is another aspect of alchemy: the progression of metals. In alchemy there is the obvious turning metals into gold, but each of the metals corresponds to a specific planet. Each of these pairings has meaning. The pairings and their hierarchy are as follows: lead/Saturn, tin/Jupiter, mercury (quicksilver)/ Mercury, iron/Mars, copper/Venus, silver/Moon, gold/Sun. These pairings show up in the “Mad Trist” as the floor is made of copper, the door is iron, and behind the dragon, the floor is silver in a palace of gold along with the brass shield (St. Armand 4-6). In _The Fall of the House of Usher_ , the metals come up again. The house itself is dull and “leadened.” Roderick Usher grows to become “alternately vivacious and sullen” which says he is instead associating with Mercury. When Madeline, the sister, is entombed, she is “hermetically sealed” (St. Armand 4-5). Those who know of Greek and Roman mythology will remember that Hermes is the Greek version of the Roman god Mercury. These are the alchemy symbols present in _The Fall of the House of Usher_ of which there are many more.   
  
Gnosticism is the belief that the soul is trapped in the mortal world. Coincidently, alchemy is the means by which to free this soul. Just as the knight in the “Mad Trist” kills the dragon, so Roderick “kills” his sister. “Madeline is the Gnostic soul trying to tear itself free from the imprisoning materiality of the prison-house world” (St. Armand 6). It is in the end that Usher has his glory. According to Gnostic doctrine, “the brother and sister, Sol and Luna, must suffer destruction along with the dragon if the complete alchemical work is to be accomplished” (St. Armand 7). It is the catalyst, the last step when Madeline comes back to life and throws herself on Roderick. It is this coupling that Roderick planned and wanted. “Indeed, Roderick, locked in the liberating embrace of his sister-bride, according to the canons of Gnostic initiation, has become even more than the pure soul. Roderick Usher has climbed the seven-rung ladder of the planetary metals as surely as he has passed through all seven of the crystalline spheres and endured the trials of the four elements. His final, traumatic ‘love-death’ is, for a believing alchemist, the hermaphroditic mysterium coniunctionis of the ‘Rex’ and ‘Regina’ which frees him completely from the dwelling house of matter” (St. Armand 8). The end is not the tragedy outsiders see it for. Roderick is seen to have destroyed his sister and himself. As the House of Usher falls, Roderick Usher is the alchemist and accomplishes what alchemists strive for. He has accomplished his greatest glory. This is the hidden final layer of Poe’s work: the studied worldly and otherworldly depths.

From all these layers, it is clear that Edgar Allan Poe did not write simple “jingles.” His scary stories cannot be thought of as just Goosebumps with a heightened language. To an outsider this may be true. It is equally true that Poe placed his audience in the part of the outsider. In _The Fall of the House of Ushe_ r, the audience is guided by the narrator, a fool who is faced with the horrors of the house and the family with no knowledge of what is trying to be created. Poe specifically separates the audience, then hits them with the grotesque. From his extravagance as a young man, he learned the power of pomp and bedazzlement, and used it to his advantage all while creating an underlying surprise for those with the intelligence to look. These layers of his are all by his own design. When reading some author’s work, one might think that some detail may have unintentionally found its way into the story, or some mood, or some layer. Not with Poe. Edgar Allan Poe knew every aspect of what he was putting in and is now laughing at the world that would see his stories as mere spectacles or cheap thrills. He built his stories with a strength and genius which makes his stories a treasure to behold. When one reads Poe, one cannot compare him to anyone else. Every time his stories are read, hidden pieces are discovered. His name is know to almost every school child and adult. His stories and poems have been used a hundred times over in everything under the sun, including even “The Simpsons.” For all those who would think his material simple, five-cent horror tales, think again. Critics thought his work would vanish, but it is taught today alongside their own work in English classes across America. He has so much more to offer than terror because he made sure he did. Every piece of his work was carefully planned with the attention and detail that is not present in much of the literature created today. Poe is the alchemist taking small techniques from cultures everywhere and unimportant ideas that come from his own life, and turning them into gold.


End file.
